A Tale of Two Heat Pumps
Cool Tips for a Hot Planet
When we built our house in the late ‘80s, we installed an air-source heat pump. I loved it for its gentle heat. But 37 years ago, that heat pump only warmed our cockles when outside temps were above -5 or so. Below that, a back-up electric furnace took over.
Fast forward some 20 years: gas lines had come to our neighbourhood. There were federal and provincial rebates for adding insulation, new windows and doors – and for switching to a high-efficiency gas furnace – so we did all of the above. Sadly, we didn’t even think about the environmental impact of fossil gas at the time. It’s largely methane – a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
In October we switched back to a heat pump. They’ve come a long way baby. This one is good for cold climates and requires no separate back-up furnace. A built-in electric coil supplements the heat pump when temperatures dip below -20 C and takes over fully at around -30 C. And, unlike our first heat pump, it does not occasionally blow cold air in winter.
Another advantage: While our original heat pump system cost more to operate than the gas furnace that replaced it, the opposite is now true. This winter, in total, our utility costs dropped 30 per cent. In summer the heat pump will efficiently cool the house – so no need to buy an air conditioner.
We don’t live in an area slated for new gas line installations from Enbridge, like Bobcaygeon. Those who do would pay extra charges for the new pipeline on their gas bill. On the other hand, they could save up to $10,000 over the lifetime of a cold climate heat pump if they chose that instead, according to new analysis by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. Unfortunately, Enbridge doesn’t provide that information in enticing potential customers to install fossil gas. Because of such omissions, the Competition Bureau has launched an investigation into that company’s alleged deceptive marketing.
Beyond the dollars and cents, I was delighted that by removing fossil gas from our home heating equation we will reduce our annual carbon footprint by more than three metric tonnes. Not quite the equivalent of taking a typical gas-powered car off the road for a year, but it’s close.
Despite heat pumps selling like hot cakes over the last couple of years some people remain lukewarm to the idea. They question the up-front costs, the need to upgrade electrical panels, or to install ductwork. For their consideration:
1. The panel upgrade varies with the type of heat pump installed, and the house. I’m reading that sometimes circuit sharers, pausers or breaker consolidation can help, but your installer or electrician can tell you about that.
2. There are ductless heat pumps available.
3. Our upfront costs were greatly reduced by a federal grant and interest-free, 10-year loan. While the grant was recently discontinued, the federal interest-free loan (up to $40,000) is still available through the Canada Greener Homes program. Low to moderate income families now heating with oil can apply for a grant of up to $10,000 for a heat pump through Natural Resource Canada’s Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program. And qualifying households using electric heat can apply for a free cold climate heat pump through Ontario’s Save on Energy Program.
What are the actual savings, in dollars? A new natural gas furnace costs 7k. Heat pump costs 20k. The savings better be huge to convince me that a heat pump is worth buying. People who push these things are always vague about the actual numbers, which doesn’t surprise me once I actually look into the numbers myself. I’m all for efficiency and reducing pollution, but not if I have to go bankrupt to do it. Especially when I see that the people pushing the ‘green agenda’ always seem to be the ones polluting the planet more in one week than I will in a lifetime.
Wallace, you can find out more info on heat pumps here, including incentives, testimonials, webinar recordings, and calculators to estimate your savings: https://www.cleanairalliance.org/heat-pumps-can-save-you-money/
Yes Angela, I looked into it myself. The ‘savings’ numbers are very vague. Too many ‘potential savings’ based on the size of the home, how well the home is insulated, outside temperatures and the type of heat pump you chose. They explain the dollar savings you will get from installing a heat pump the way the government explains the dollar savings you will get if you purchase an EV… very vague and extremely optimistic. Also, if a heat pump will save us 20% on our heating/cooling bill, that sounds good until you see that 20% savings over a course of one year ends up being a few hundred dollars in that year . Will you spend an extra 14k on a heating system so you can save a few hundred dollars per year ? Will the heat pump last long enough to make it worthwhile ?
Hi Wallace, There is a large variation in the prices of heat pumps. So good to get a number of quotes. I recently bought a cold climate air source heat pump for about $14,000.
Hi Jack — a ‘top of the line’ gas furnace installed, is half that price (or less) .
So really?… it’s all about the dollars and nothing more then? How incredibly short-sighted. How about the cost of pumping out tons of CO2 an poisoning the atmosphere of future generations? How about the cost of turning northern Alberta into a Mordor-like nightmare with toxic lakes that no waterfowl can land in and live to fly again? How about the elevated cancer rates and the undrinkable water for the native folks downstream from that mess? How about the billions that just came out of our pockets for Trans-Mountain pipeline?
If you’re going to talk dollars and sense, how about doing your homework and not shoving your costs onto the rest of us, and those yet to inherit this planet? I’m sick and tired of people who can’t do math and think the rest of us should pick up their slack.
Well your in luck I can do math.
But I can not figure out your C02
Issue. Who is pumping it out?
Let get to the bottom of that.
First let’s talk about the importance of resources which run all the dollars.In my very planet
I luckily did the right homework not the cheat books I was removing from the other students possession. Geothermal is what was recommended not heat pumps.